


I hope I haven't blown it

by redhoodedwolf



Series: Sterek Week '15 [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: ASL teacher!Stiles, Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Fluff, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Sterekweek, Super sorry for butchering her last name but I don't know how to spell it, Weddings, human!Paige, like werewolves are a thing but nothign else is the same, recovering feral!Derek, scene stealer, the perfect wedding au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2015-10-29
Packaged: 2018-04-28 17:30:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5099225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redhoodedwolf/pseuds/redhoodedwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Perfect Wedding AU: After letting his wolf take control of his life, Derek has finally fully recovered and is trying to make up for all of his past actions by being the best son, brother, and human he could possibly be. When Laura and Jordan need help planning their wedding, Laura invites Paige, an old friend, over to the Hale house for Christmas. Derek and Paige used to date. Derek ruined that relationship by letting his wolf rule his emotions. Paige feels awkward about seeing Derek again, so she asks her fellow teacher and friend, Stiles, to pretend to be her boyfriend for the holiday. Stiles agrees, but that is before he meets Derek who is definitely not the jerk Paige had made him out to be, at least not anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I hope I haven't blown it

**Author's Note:**

> Sterek Week Day 5: Scene Stealer

            "I'm acting exactly like my old feral self!" Derek exclaimed. He stared down at his feet as he pushed them through the warm sand beneath him.

            Boyd was seated to his left, a stoic friend in Derek's desperate time of need. "Not exactly," Boyd replied.

            Derek stared down at his hands, disbelieving. "What do you mean?"

            "What would you have done last night? Before, when you were feral?"

            Derek tossed a shell into the water. "Let my wolf overcome me and my emotions and kiss Stiles, which is exactly what I did!"

            Boyd rolled his eyes. "And then _after_ that?"

            Derek stilled slightly. "I would have ravished him."

            "And then?"

            "Jesus, Boyd. I would have had sex with him, alright?!"

            Boyd was silent for a second, giving Derek a moment to think before replying, "And you didn't do that, did you?"

            The wind whipped past and Derek could feel it ruffle his hair. He took in a deep breath, then whispered, "No."

            Boyd nodded. A moment of silence passed between them as they both looked out over the water before Boyd asked, "So what are you going to do about Stiles?"

            "What do you mean?"

            Boyd sighed heavily. "Well, what do you think about him? And I mean you, not your wolf."

            "I think he's..." Derek trailed off slightly. His eyes burned from the brightness of the mid morning sun, and it reminded him of the way Stiles' touch felt against his skin the night before, or any moment they'd brushed. "I know we just met, but I really think we could be something. Something good. I mean, when we were talking? The way his eyes lit up when he talked about his novel being inspired by The Princess Bride, and how his hands never stopped moving and he would sometimes sign words and not even realize it. I just felt this connection between us, something deeper than just my wolf's mate instincts.

            Boyd's gaze was steady on him. Infuriatingly enough, all he asked was, "And?"

            Derek turned back to the water. "And no matter how much I like him, he's with Paige now."

            "And?"

            Derek was close to snarling at Boyd, but he knew this was important. He took another steadying breath. "So it doesn't matter of my feelings. I have to walk away." Derek threw a stone across the water, and it hit the surface with _splash!_

*

            Paige was enjoying a calm Christmas day morning in the living room of the Hale house, chatting with Talia, when Laura entered the room, face distraught.

            "Paige, did something happen to Stiles?"

            Paige's eyebrows furrowed. "No, why?"

            "I went to go wake him up and all of his stuff was gone."

            Talia sat up in alarm. "He's not in the house?"

            Laura shook her head, and shot Paige a sympathetic look.

            Paige was in shock and she settled down heavily into the couch cushions.

            "I liked Stiles," Cora commented with a pout from her seat on her armchair.

            "He was really nice," Laura responded, taking her seat next to Paige and throwing an arm around her shoulder consolingly.

            Jordan walked in from the kitchen, an envelope in his hands, unaware of the tension in the room. "Hey, did you guys see this?" he spoke to the room, wiggling the envelope. He passed it over to Paige. Paige recognized Stiles' messy scrawl of her name on the front. She hesitated to open it. Laura nudged her, so she obliged.

            "'Dear Paige,'" she read. "'I'm sorry I had to leave so suddenly. Something came up and it's complicated. I have to head back to Beacon Hills soon anyway for my ASL teaching job and I found a really cheap flight online. It leaves early tonight so I'm catching the bus to the airport. Please tell everyone 'thank you' for welcoming me into the family. It was the best Christmas I've had in a long time. Love, Stiles Stilinski'."

            Paige flipped the paper over and noticed some more writing. She cleared her throat before continuing. "'P.S. No matter what Derek might say it was all my fault. He did nothing wrong.'" Talia and Cora shared a shocked look at the mention of Derek. "'And for what it's worth I think you'd be really great together.' What the fuck? What did Derek do?"

            As if summoned by the tension, Derek and Boyd entered the room, Derek feeling much worse for wear. Everyone's eyes flew immediately to him and he curled in on himself defensively. "What did I do?"

            Talia spoke up. "Stiles disappeared. He must have left before any of us got up this morning."

            Derek froze in his tracks, body going cold with fear and guilt. "What?" he asked weakly.

            "He said he was heading back to Beacon Hills," Paige piped up, and Derek could hardly look at her, the guilt eating him alive.

            "So what happened, Derek?" Cora accused.

            Derek felt put on the spot. He never thought that he would feel like the prey in a room full of werewolves or under the gaze of a human he once loved, yet here he was.

            "Uh... I--" Derek swallowed thickly. He looked back at Boyd for support, but the man just gave him a look like, "Time to confess."

            "Last night, um, we were up late reading the directions to this game he got you," he gestured to Paige, "for Christmas. And we started taking about plans for the future, building a family that kind of stuff, and I..." Derek's hands were grabbing on to the back of the couch, gripping for dear life. "I _kissed_ him."

            The room seemed to heave a huge groan, but Derek's eyes were only on Paige. "But that was it, I swear. God, I'm so sorry Paige. It was completely my fault. I'm so fucking sorry." There had been few times in Derek's adult life that he'd felt like crying, but this was one of them.

            Paige looked shocked but not surprised, and obviously angry.

            Laura gently asked Paige, "So, do you want to get back together with Derek?"

            "What the fuck?" Derek asked.

            "What?!" Paige practically screeched. "No, no. Not--, hah, no. I'm sorry, but no," she addressed towards Derek.

            "In that case are you going to _tell_ Derek..?" Laura asked in that same voice again to Paige, whose eyes widened, like she was surprised Laura had brought up such a subject.

            It was Paige's turn to have all eyes on her. Derek's breath felt permanently caught in his throat. "Tell me what?" he croaked.

            Paige turned to him looking guilty, then the rest of the family. "I'm-- I'm so sorry," she breathed. "Stiles was only pretending to be my boyfriend. I asked him to so that you wouldn't think I was a pathetic loser for still being single after-- you." She turned towards Derek.

            Derek practically collapsed against the couch in relief. "God, no. Paige, you're not the loser, I am. I have been and I still am, aren't I. I kissed him even though I thought that he was your boyfriend."

            Boyd spoke up for the first time. "And then you _stopped_ before anything happened, and you walked away," he reminded Derek.

            Derek huffed a humorless laugh. "So I did the right thing?"

            "Yeah, after you did the _wrong_ thing."

            "I've been there!" Talia piped up. Derek's shoulders relaxed some. It seemed like his mother was still somewhat on his side.

            Paige shook her head lightly and stared down at the letter in her hands. "You... you actually properly like Stiles? _You_?"

            Derek knew the 'you' she was referring to was him and not his wolf. His wolf was the side of him driven by instinct, the side that had driven Derek to cheat on Paige and ruin their relationship, the side that was mean and nasty to her until he learned to reign in that part of him and become equally human and wolf, but by then it had been too late to salvage what they'd had.

            "I do," Derek confessed.

            Paige looked back at the letter and smirked. "So is that it?"

            Derek cocked his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

            "Well are you just going to let him get away?" she inquired, passing the letter over to him. Derek felt hope swelling in his chest. "What was that line from Stiles' book you liked? "Fear not your destiny for you have shaped it well.""

            Derek took the letter pressed against his chest gingerly and felt a smile build on his face. Paige grinned at him. The whole Hale family seemed to sigh in relief.

            "So... you're suggesting I go after him?" Derek clarified.

            Cora snorted from her seat. "Duh."

            "I should go after him," Derek decided, a grin breaking across his face. He nodded his head. "I'm gonna go after him!" He patted Boyd's chest as he passed him, and he hastened from the living room and towards the front door. He stopped abruptly before he could leave and turned. "Oh wait, I don't have a car!" he laughed.

            "I'll drive!" Talia piped up immediately, and soon there was a swarm of Hales and Hale-adjacent heading towards the van parked out front. Derek threw himself into the passenger seat, and his heart was thumping so fast and hard it almost hurt.

            "The bus station is by the grocery store right?"

            "Are we even sure he's _at_ the bus station?"

            "Oh my god."

            "That must have been one hell of a kiss."

            "This reminds me of a joke."

            "Not now, Mom."

            Time didn't seem to be going fast enough for Derek. He clutched the letter tightly in his hands like if he dropped it Stiles himself would slip through his fingers.

            Finally the bus station came into view, and Derek didn't hesitate to throw open the car door and push himself out before the car came to a stop around the corner.

            He could detect two heartbeats, maybe three, and his heart was jumping all over the place. When he got to the front of the station he halted in his tracks as he saw the lone person standing there was a little old lady.

            Derek felt crushed. He'd missed Stiles by probably hours. He was half tempted to tuck his tail between his legs and sulk back to his family for support when he heard the jangling of the tacky bell placed above the station's door. It was then Derek remembered he had heard more heartbeats.

            Stiles exited the small station, old lacrosse bag slung over his shoulder. In his hands was the ticket for the bus.

            Stiles glanced up and caught Derek's eye, and time seemed to slow even further. Stiles looked beautiful.

            "Merry Christmas," was all Derek could get himself to say.

            Stiles swallowed visibly and fiddled with his duffle strap. "What are you doing here?" he inquired, not looking Derek in the eye.

            Derek steeled his resolve and closed some of the space between them. "I needed to tell you something." Stiles was still trying to avoid his eyes, but was ultimately failing. "I know that Paige isn't really your girlfriend."

            Stiles looked down, smelling of shame. "How'd you find out?"

            "She told me. This morning."

            Stiles turned his head away. "She's still in love with you, right?"

            Derek resisted the urge to laugh. "No. Wrong. That's not what she told me."

            Stiles' eyes snapped back to him, his face hiding his shock well, attempting to cover it with disinterest. "What?"

            "Paige is not in love with me," Derek reiterated.

            Stiles shook his head, chuckling under his breath. "Then she's crazy."

            "Well I think Paige is crazy because she's not in love with you," Derek confessed, stepping even further into Stiles' space.

            Stiles ducked his head to hide a grin, his cheeks pinking.

            The old woman must have shuffled away at some point, because the bench was left empty. "Would you like to sit?" Derek suggested. Stiles nodded in agreement and they both awkwardly shuffled over to sit. Derek's hands twitched and he itched to reach out and pull Stiles close, but he resisted the urge and left an adequate amount of space between them.

            "So, uh, I came to tell you two things," Derek finally spoke, wringing his hands together nervously. "The first one's a little embarrassing... There was a time before I had my wolf under control that what happened last night would have happened because you had a girlfriend. But last night was different." Stiles turned his gaze away, and Derek's voice faltered slightly. "I didn't want... What happened last night happened _despite_ the fact that you had a girlfriend. Er, that I _thought_ you had a girlfriend." Derek glanced back up and saw Stiles was smiling at him encouragingly, eyes flitting between his and his lips, and it gave Derek the courage to finish his spiel. He hadn't talked this much in a long time, to anyone. "If I'd had the courage to say it, I would have told you what I thought of you as soon as I got to know you. That Paige is a lucky girl, and I wish I had met you before you got together with her."

            "But we're not--" Stiles voice was breathy. Derek cut him off.

            " _I know_. I know. And that's why I have to tell you this other thing."

            Derek thought back on a few days prior. Laura and Stiles had been talking and she was telling the story of how she and Jordan met. She'd told it to everyone. Derek practically had it memorized by now. He hoped Jordan wouldn't mind him stealing his line.

            Derek hesitantly set a hand on Stiles' knee, and he felt relief flow through him when Stiles' hand settled on top of his. "I came to try to convince you to take a later flight because I want you to spend Christmas with me and my family." Stiles breathed out a laugh and ducked his head. His thumb was rubbing a soothing pattern on Derek's hand. Derek swallowed thickly. "And I really hope I haven't blown it because--" Stiles' brilliant golden eyes met his and Derek lost his breath a little. "Once we get to know each other a little better, I'm going to ask you to marry me."

            Stiles' eyes lit up in recognition, having heard the same words from Laura. A huge grin split his face. There was only two seconds of hesitation before he leaned in slightly, and Derek took that invitation to bring their lips together.

            Two years later, Stiles and Derek broke their kiss to the sound of applause and wedding bells chiming. Derek could easily feel the press of Stiles' smile against his lips, and he knew Stiles could feel the same. He was hopelessly and utterly in love with his husband.

            Derek grinned out at the crowd of family members seated in the pews. He spotted his mother sitting next to Stiles' father and his wife. He saw Laura and Jordan applauding. He caught Boyd's eye and the wink of his fiancé, Erica.

            Derek turned back to Stiles and signed 'I love you' before pulling his husband back in for another soft press of a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> There's more of this madness on my tumblr at redhoodedwolf


End file.
